St. Clair County officials continue to stress vaccinations for southwest IL residents

With COVID-19 infections in southwestern Illinois still rising due largely to the delta variant, St. Clair County officials remain steadfast in pushing getting vaccinated.

In St. Clair County specifically, for the week of July 29-Aug. 4, officials announced 755 new positive cases. The county also reported one new death Wednesday, bringing the totals to 33,976 cases and 491 deaths since the pandemic began.

Additionally, 26 of the 27 ZIP codes reported increases for the second consecutive week. Summerfield again was the only ZIP code not to report any new cases.

St. Clair County is part of what the Illinois Department of Public Health classifies as Region 4, which also includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, and Washington counties.

“It’s the delta variant that’s causing this, and, certainly, we know that this variant is brought about by the fact that people who haven’t been vaccinated are bringing these variants about,” St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said during Wednesday’s weekly COVID briefing. ”That’s why it’s extremely important for your community to get vaccinated. We encourage you to do that.”

St. Clair County Health Department Director Myla Blandford called on the entire region to work together. She also noted the amount of breakthrough cases locally stood at .01% as of Wednesday.

“It’s a community. It’s a region that we have to work together and achieve these goals,” she said during the briefing. “The vaccine is available. If you’re home bound and you need vaccine, reach out to the health department. We’ll do whatever we can to get the vaccine to you.”

St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons, meanwhile, again expressed exasperation over people able to get vaccinated choosing not to.

“It’s really ridiculous that we’re having to go through this again,” he said. “We have that tool available to us and a lot of people, a lot of the Team St. Clair members, have taken advantage of that. But there’s still a percentage of people out there that haven’t for whatever reason. It’s unfortunate. I don’t know what else we can do to get the word out.’’

Positivity rate, ICU bed data

Positivity rate is one key metric the Illinois Department of Public Health measures. Here is a brief look at the seven-day rate fluctuations for Region 4 and its counties from one week ago and one month ago, according to the most recent data released by the state health department on Wednesday:

• Region 4: 10.3% on Aug. 1; 9.1% on July 25; and 5.0% on July 2.
• Bond County: 2.9% on Aug. 1; 6.2% on July 25; and 1.9% on July 2.
• Clinton County: 11.5% on Aug. 1; 7.6% on July 25; and 1.9% on July 2.
• Madison County: 10.9% on Aug. 1; 9.1% on July 25; and 5.8% on July 2.
• Monroe County: 11.1% on Aug. 1; 13.0% on July 25; and 5.4% on July 2.
• Randolph County: 8.2% on Aug. 1; 7.4% on July 25; and 2.5% on July 2.
• St. Clair County: 10.2% on Aug. 1; 9.5% on July 25; and 5.3% on July 2.
• Washington County: 16.2% on Aug. 1; 5.4% on July 25; and 2.2% on July 2.

“We hope that we can reverse this trend,” Simmons said. “Because it’s definitely going the wrong way. We can do that with your help. We’ve done it before.”

Another key metric is ICU bed availability, which stayed at 28% a fourth-straight day in Region 4 on Wednesday, according to data released by the Illinois Department of Public Health. That figure stood at 20% one week ago and at 33% a month ago.

Update from across the river in St. Louis

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force released the following data slides, combining figures from the four major health systems (BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health, St. Luke’s Hospital) that are part of the task force.

The data for Wednesday is as follows:

• New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased from 63 on Tuesday to 75 on Wednesday.
• The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased from 71 on Tuesday to 75 on Wednesday.
• The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations increased from 420 on Tuesday to 431 on Wednesday.
• Inpatient confirmed COVID positive hospitalizations increased from 439 on Tuesday to 444 on Wednesday.
• Inpatient suspected COVID positive hospitalizations decreased from 31 on Tuesday to 28 on Wednesday.
• The number of confirmed COVID positive patients in the ICUs increased from 123 on Tuesday to 124 on Wednesday.
• The number of confirmed COVID positive patients on ventilators increased from 65 on Tuesday to 66 on Wednesday.
• The number of COVID deaths increased from 6 on Tuesday to 10 on Wednesday.
• The seven-day moving average of COVID deaths remained the same at 6 on Wednesday.
• Across the system hospitals, 68 were discharged, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients discharged to 24,454.
• As of Wednesday, staffed bed hospital capacity was at 87% on average across task force hospitals. The ICUs are at 81% of their total staffed bed capacity.

Testing options

The Illinois Department of Public Health has mobile testing teams at locations in East St. Louis, including 4601 State St., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday and Monday. Capacity is limited, and hours of operation are subject to change based on available equipment.

Another testing site is at St. Clair Square mall, in the parking lot behind Dillard’s. It is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday. Several area pharmacies and Memorial and St. Elizabeth’s hospitals also offer testing.

In Madison County, CVS and Walgreens locations offer free testing. Touchette Regional Hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation also offer daily testing in Wood River. Call 618-646-2596 for an appointment.

“If you’re not feeling good, go get tested,” Simmons said.

Where to find the COVID vaccine in the metro-east

Local health departments and pharmacies continue to offer the shot.

In St. Clair County, the location at 330 W. Main St. in Belleville is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. People can use the drive-up option for the Pfizer vaccine, but need an appointment for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Additional options include chain stores such as Walgreens and CVS or local pharmacies like the Freeburg Pharmacy and the Smithton Pharmacy. There is walk-in availability, but appointments are recommended.

Also, New Life in Christ Church, 689 Troy-Scott Road, O’Fallon, will host the following vaccine clinic:

• Friday, Aug. 20, and Saturday, Aug. 21: 5-8 p.m. Pfizer second dose.
  
  

For more information on this clinic, call 618-632-6542 or email nlreceptionist@nlicic.org.

In Madison County, the health department is holding clinics for child and adult immunizations on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by appointment only. Call (618) 692-8954 to schedule an appointment. For more information, visit: http://www.co.madison.il.us/.../immunization_clinic.php

Here are additional upcoming vaccination opportunities in Madison County:

• Thursday, Aug. 5: 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Alton High School, 4200 Humbert Road. Pfizer vaccine. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Visit www.madisonchd.org for more info or to schedule an appointment.
• Wednesday, Aug. 11: 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Collinsville Middle School, 9649 Collinsville Road. Pfizer vaccine. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Visit www.madisonchd.org for more info or to schedule an appointment.
  
  
• Thursday, Aug. 12: 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Granite City High School, 3101 Madison Ave. Pfizer vaccine. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Visit www.madisonchd.org for more info or to schedule an appointment.
  
  
• Wednesday, Aug. 18: 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Triad High School, 703 U.S. 40. Pfizer vaccine. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Visit www.madisonchd.org for more info or to schedule an appointment.
  
  
• Thursday, Aug. 19: 4-7:30 p.m. at Edwardsville High School, 6161 Center Grove Road. Pfizer vaccine. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Visit www.madisonchd.org for more info or to schedule an appointment.
  
  
• Wednesday, Aug. 25: 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Civic Memorial High School, 200 School St., Bethalto. Pfizer vaccine. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Visit www.madisonchd.org for more info or to schedule an appointment.
  
  
• Thursday, Aug. 26: 3:30-7:30 p.m. at Alton High School, 4200 Humbert Road. Pfizer vaccine. Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome. Visit www.madisonchd.org for more info or to schedule an appointment.

Amy Yeager, director of community health public information officer for the Madison County Health Department, said recently all the pharmacies in the county, specifically all the Walgreens and CVS locations, are giving the vaccine as well.

She also recommended calling local pediatrician offices.

“A lot of the pediatrician offices in our county have the vaccine,” Yeager said. “A lot of them are giving the vaccine to people who aren’t even their patients.”

Town Hall meeting

Join IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike for a virtual town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, for an update on “The current state of the pandemic in the Region 4 area.”

Meeting info

• Join here: https://loom.ly/VkE-AP4
• Meeting number (access code): 177 036 6435
• Meeting password: JQusxf5p2y7

This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.